Trolley-shoe



0. HIPPLE.

TRGLLEY SHOE.

APPLIcAnoN mea MAR. 14, |917.

l Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

Pfg. 4.

INVENTORY //l/evf.D

/e BY ATT'ORNEY OFWILKINS TOWNSHIP, ALLEGHENY COUNTYVPENNSYLITIANI,

OLIVER P. HIPPLE,

ernst,

ASSIGNORVTO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANYQ, A GOR- IORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TROLLEY-snor..

To all 'who/m, t may concern.'

vBe it known that I, OLIVER I. Hirinii, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkins township in the county of Allegheny and State of Ieiinsylvanimliave 1nvented a new and useful Improvement in Trolley-Shoes, of which the followingis a specification. l a

My invention relates to current-collecting devices for electric vehicles, and it has .for 'its object'to provide a trolley shoe which shall respond readily to irregularities in the height of the trolley wire. v y,

When an electric' vehicle is operating at a accurately follow the variations in the height of the trolley wire by reason of the inertia of the-.somewhat cumbersome'trolley shoe structure which imposes a certainvsluggishness of action'. upon' the movements of the shoe. Even with the catenary meth-od of suspension, there are still many places where the wire is higher than at other places and, if the trolley leaves the wire by reason of this non-uniform height of the trolley wire, arcing, trouble and delay result. Y

In accordance with my invention, I propose to remedy these evils by providing a contact shoe which shall be locally responsive which, by reason of the comparatively lightness of the moving parts, will rreadily adapt itself to abrupt variations in the height of the trolley wire. t

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing is Aa top plan view of a trolley shoe constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line III--III of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view, partially in section and partially in elevation, taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

The current-collecting device shown in the drawing comprises portions 1 of a pantograph frame, a trolley shoe 2 that is mounted upon the frame 1, land a trolley wire 3, from which the trolley shoe 2 is adapted to collect current.

50 The trolley shoe 2 comprises a base 4, to which the arms 1 of the pantograph frame are pivotally connected, a flexible casingV 5 that is mounted upon the base 4, and a plu- Specification of Letters Patent.

relatively high speed, the trolley is unable to to undulations in the trolley conductor,.and.

rality of contact members 6 that are mounted in the flexible casing 5 and are adapted to engage the cooperating trolley wire. The

casing 5 has a flexible'current-conducting Y. fabric 7 Vembodied therein to which thecon-` tact members are .electrically connected. From lthe fabric 7 vthe current visconducted `to the arms l', through wires 16 embedded y Patented Mar.1,19`21. Application iled March V14, .1917. vSerial No. 154,814. Y i

in the-casing, and thence to the motor, in

the usual inannei'. The;v main bodyof the casing 5 is preferably composed of rubber and canvas, in order to provide'a readily resilientmember, and is covered by an asbesv tos shield 8l which protects the rubber yfrom arcing' and heating caused byv poor contact engagement of the contactfmembersf 6with the trolley wire The inner portion of the casing 5 is providedwith a shield 9 that is interposed between an inflatable-tube 10and the bases ofv thefcontact membersl 6.` The base 4 has llips 11 which engage the edges of the casing 5 and hold the same in operative position.

It will be understood that, with such a device as I have herein described, the surfaces of the contact members 6 will be locally resilient to the pressure from the trolley conductor? 3, thus providinga current-collecting structure which will yield substantially, only at the point of contact with the current-collecting shoe, and, since this portion of the shoe is of comparatively light weight and small inertia, it will respond quickly to blows or to abrupt variations in the height of the trolley conductor. Furthermore, with the contact surface for each shoe divided into a plurality of parts, more than one point of the shoe will have good electrical v contact with the trolley conductor, since the Yvided with current-collecting side portions ioo 'in' a simple and preferred form,

l2 that are'normally held in engagement with the trolley Wire and a plurality of independently movable contact members 13 that are mounted between the side portions trolley conductor 3.

Although I have described my invention l l desire that it shall not be so limited and that only such restrictions shall be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims. I claim as my invention:

1. A trolley shoe comprising an elastic member, a plurality of separate contact members mounted in said elastic member,

yand means for electricallyzconnecting said contact members.

2. trolley shoe comprising a flexible conducting member, a plurality of currentcollecting studs mounted in said flexible conducting member, and means for rendering individual portions of the contact surface of said shoe locally flexible.

8. A trolley shoe comprising a flexible conducting member, a plurality of currentcollecting` studs mounted in said flexible conducting member, and pneumatic means for renderingindividual portions of the contact surface of said shoe locally flexible.

4. The combination with a pantograph frame, of a current-collecting shoe comprising a conducting' current-collecting` surface, and fluid-inflated means for rendering individual portions of said surface resilient.

5. The combination With a pantograph frame, of a current-collecting shoe comprising a base7 a flexible casing, mounted on studs embedded in said casing, andfluidinflated means for renderingindividual portions of said casing locally flexible.

6. A currentcollecting shoe comprising a flexible casing, a conducting member embedded Within said casing, a plurality of contact members partially embedded in said casing` and electrically connected to said conducting member, and means for rendering,` individual portions of said flexible casing resilient. I

In testimony whereof, lhave-hereunto subscribed my name this18th day of March,

' OLIVER P. HIPPLE.

Vsaid base, a plurality of current-collecting 

